The NHS has had its say on whether hormone treatment could help to prevent miscarriages in early pregnancy.

It comes after a study by researchers from hospitals and universities across the UK suggested that the hormone progesterone could help women with vaginal bleeding during the first trimester.

The research, which was funded by the National Institute of Health Research and the charity Tommy's, involved more than 4,000 British women who were prescribed either progesterone or a placebo.

The participants were told to continue taking their prescription until they had completed 16 weeks of pregnancy, with researchers later following them up to see how many gave birth successfully after 34 weeks.

The new study has attracted praise in the UK, and the NHS has now shared its view on the results.

So what exactly did the researchers uncover? And what has the NHS said about the findings?

What was the new study?

The new study was carried out by doctors from 23 universities, hospitals and charities in the UK, and was led by a researcher at the University of Birmingham as well as one in Australia and one in the US.

It was a randomised controlled trial, which involves participants being allocated to receive (or not to receive) a particular treatment in order to determine if it is effective.

In this instance, the trial was to examine the abilities of progesterone in early pregnancy.

Researchers recruited 4,153 women between the ages of 16 and 39 from across the UK who were in early pregnancy (less than 12 weeks).

Each participant had bleeding from the vagina which, although common during the first trimester, can occasionally be a warning sign for miscarriage.

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However, researchers found that progesterone might be helpful to women who had three or more previous miscarriages, as it increased their chances of having a baby by 28%.

Researchers concluded that treatment with progesterone did not result in "significant improvement" in the incidence of live births among women with vaginal bleeding during early pregnancy.

They said there was a "suggestion of benefit" for those who had experience of three or more previous miscarriages, but acknowledged that further validation is required.

What has the NHS said?

The NHS said the media coverage of the research has been 'misleading' (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

The NHS supports the researchers' findings that "progesterone did not make a significant difference".

It noted that the difference between the two groups was "too small to be sure it was not down to chance", and added that there's no "clear evidence" that progesterone supplements can prevent miscarriage.

The NHS did praise the large sample size of the research, as well as the fact it was "double blinded" - meaning neither the women nor researchers knew who was taking progesterone or placebo.

Its primary issue in this instance is with the headlines and media coverage of the study, branding them "misleading" as they "do not reflect the main findings of this study".

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It said the main conclusion of the research has been ignored, with the media instead focusing on the subgroup of women who had three or more previous miscarriages.

"We have to be cautious about drawing firm conclusions from the results of this subgroup," said the NHS.

The NHS further noted that, while these women had an improved chance of having a baby due to progesterone, they still had a lower chance than women with fewer previous miscarriages.

It concluded that further research into the topic is necessary and said that, while there's no current miscarriage prevention methods, there are things women can do to improve their chances of a successful pregnancy, such as avoiding certain food groups.